Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Falkner of Margravine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Falkner of Margravine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Falkner of Margravine on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they made to the October 2014 findings by the International Council on Clean Transportation that some vehicles were producing emissions at seven times the legal limit.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government did not respond to the findings of the ICCT. This research confirmed the importance of ongoing work by Department for Transport officials on the development of a new European regulation to address issues around real world driving emissions.

  • Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chadlington on 2016-01-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the European Court of Human Rights ruling on 12 January in Barbulescu v Romania on an employer’s right to access an employee’s private emails in the UK.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government has made no assessment of the judgment The case raises the important question of whether the Applicant had a reasonable expectation that his communications would not be monitored; and could reasonably expect privacy when communicating from the Yahoo Messenger account that he had registered at his employer’s request, and where there was a strict company policy prohibiting use of work systems for personal purposes. The Applicant alleged interference with his article 8 rights and that the interference was not foreseeable or proportionate. But the Court held that there was nothing to indicate that the domestic authorities failed to strike a fair balance between the applicant’s right to respect for his private life under Article 8 and his employer’s interests, and that there had been no violation of Article 8 of the Convention.

    The attached ICO’s employment practices code sets out guidance in relation to workplace monitoring. The code is already clear that employers should have policies in place explaining how they expect their IT systems to be used, including setting out the extent to which, if any, the IT system can be used for personal use. Even where no such policy is in place, it is reasonable in certain circumstances for employers to monitor an employee’s use of the IT systems to ensure compliance with any policy or to ensure that employees are not abusing the use of the system. Such monitoring may include accessing non-work communications but this should only be done in exceptional circumstances.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidelines her Department produces on the inclusion of non-conviction information or soft information on DBS forms.

    Karen Bradley

    Statutory guidance is issued under section 113B(4A) of the Police Act 1997 in order to assist chief officers of police in making decisions to provide relevant non-conviction information and other intelligence from local police records for inclusion in enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service certificates. The Home Office introduced the first edition of this guidance on 10 September 2012 and the most recent revision came into force on 10 August 2015.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with police and crime commissioners on the relative allocation of resources for public order and security to urban and surburban areas.

    Mike Penning

    The allocation of resources is a matter for Police and Crime Commissioners, in consultation with their respective Chief Constables. Overall police spending is protected in real terms over the next Spending Review period, once local precept is taken into account. There is no question that the police have the resources to do their important work.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to develop a national cross-departmental strategy for reducing and eliminating excess winter deaths.

    Jane Ellison

    Excess winter deaths occur due to a range of complex issues, including circulating infections such as influenza.

    Public Health England (PHE) oversees the implementation of the national flu immunisation programme working closely with the Department and the National Health Service. PHE publishes an annual Flu Plan ahead of the flu season each year which sets out a coordinated and evidence-based approach to planning for, and responding to, the demands of influenza across England.

    PHE publishes the Cold Weather Plan for England (CWP), in collaboration with the Department, NHS England and the Local Government Association. This aims to avoid preventable illness and deaths in winter by setting out a series of actions for organisations, communities and individuals, to take throughout the year. The CWP is underpinned by a Cold Weather Alert Service provided by the Met Office. The plan is fully aligned with additional guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on reducing excess winter mortality and morbidity and the health risks associated with cold homes.

    PHE also co-ordinates the cross-government Keep Warm Keep Well booklet which provides information for older people, those on low incomes and those with disabilities about keeping healthy in the winter and the financial help and benefits available.

    The Cabinet office-led ‘Winter Resilience Network’ has regular cross-government meetings throughout the winter months. Key guidance is provided on the ‘Get Ready for Winter’ website, which is hosted by the Met Office.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many men have (a) been charged with and (b) served a prison sentence for non-violent crimes in the last five years.

    Dominic Raab

    Charging decisions are a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service, and sentencing is a matter for our independent courts. The court may only impose a custodial sentence where it finds that the offence is so serious that neither a community sentence nor a fine alone can be justified.

    There is no clear definition of a non-violent crime, as both physical and psychological harm can be caused by many crimes and this will not necessarily be apparent from the description of the offence. However, the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and found guilty and sentenced, including to custody, by offence category and specific offence, by gender, in England and Wales, from 2011 to 2015 can be found in the Criminal Justice Statistics outcomes by offence data tool in the most recent annual publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015.

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  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the UK plans to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and to climate action is firm. We remain committed to ratifying the Paris Agreement, and initiating domestic procedures for this, as soon as possible.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to put in place high-quality three year apprenticeships in (a) bricklaying, (b) plastering and (c) other essential construction trades.

    Robert Halfon

    The current apprenticeships programme has a clear emphasis on improving quality.

    There are apprenticeship standards in development for both plastering and bricklaying, and both are intended to be three years in duration. We have a further 25 construction apprenticeship standards in development. We are working with the construction sector to ensure that these apprenticeships are relevant, robust, high-quality and are of sufficient duration for the apprentice to be competent in their chosen occupation.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative economic assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of HM Revenue and Customs locating its regional hub in (a) Leeds and (b) Bradford; and if he will place a copy of that assessment in the Library.

    Mr David Gauke

    On 12 November, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the next stage of its ten-year modernisation programme. As part of that, the department demonstrated its long-term commitment to Yorkshire and the Humber by setting out that it would establish a Regional Centre in Leeds.

    A number of factors were considered by HMRC when deciding where to locate its new Regional Centres. In addition to cost, it considered local and national transport links, the local labour market, supply of future workforce and the retention of current staff and skills.

    HMRC modelled the impact of locating the Regional Centre for Yorkshire and the Humber in both Bradford and Leeds. For both scenarios, it took into account the potential loss of jobs for staff expected to be outside of reasonable daily travel (defined as approximately 1 hour from home to work, though dependent on individual circumstances).

    HMRC first shared its transformation plans with its employees 18 months ago. Since then has held more than 2,000 events across the UK, setting out how and why it is changing. The department is committed to continuing to support all of its employees who are affected by these changes.

    Staff in Yorkshire attended a number of face-to-face events, providing feedback on the potential location of the regional centre. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances in one-to-one meetings with their manager.

    This transformation programme will ultimately enable HMRC to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer. It will generate estate savings of £100 million a year by 2025.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of the funds pledged by all nations through the 2013 Somali Compact that has been spent.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Somalia’s Aid Coordination Unit (ACU), supported by the World Bank and UN Development Programme, has reported that donors are meeting and sometimes exceeding their pledges. The 2013 pledge to implement the New Deal was 2.4 billion US dollars. ACU estimate that donors spent 3.2 billion US dollars across 2014 and 2015, exceeding the pledge by 33 per cent. According to ACU, donors have consistently delivered 1 billion US dollars annually in Overseas Development Assistance, accompanied by significant resources for peacekeeping and military aid.